The people of Alabama did America a favor last night by voting against Roy Moore for a seat in the U.S. Senate. Moore is just what we don’t need right now. His disdain for fundamental American values – from religious freedom to civil rights and equality to the rule of law – makes him a danger to our democracy.

Americans United knows Moore all too well. He’s been a strident voice against church-state separation for decades, and we’ve fought back and won against many of his reckless actions.

This morning, another bill that allows religion to be used to discriminate started making its way through Congress. At 10 a.m., the House Committee on Education and the Workforce began debating a Republican bill that would change the federal law that governs higher education.

The religious liberty provisions of the First Amendment protect everybody’s religious freedom. That means that private individuals and organizations can promote religion, but they can’t force government to do so. That’s what Americans United and our allied organizations explained in a friend-of-the-court brief we that filed yesterday in the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.

Yesterday, I attended “Unfinished Business” – the LGBTQ summit hosted by The Atlantic in Washington, D.C. The annual event is free to the public and seeks to showcase the current state of LGBTQ rights in the United States.

While much press this week has understandably been devoted to the U.S. Supreme Court case involving a Colorado baker who cited his religious beliefs as justification for refusing to make a wedding cake for a gay couple, there was another noteworthy story developing in Colorado that has connections to the Supreme Court and religious freedom.

Most American women use or have used birth control, and most would likely tell you how important it is to them. There’s the obvious benefits: contraception lets women decide when and whether to start or grow their family, and protects their health by treating common medical conditions. But contraception also contributes to women’s equality by allowing them to pursue education and careers, and even increases the chance they will make more money. These are just a few of the reasons that the Affordable Care Act (ACA) ensures that women have seamless access to no-cost contraception.

Yesterday, the U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments in Masterpiece Cakeshop v. Colorado Civil Rights Commission. Americans United staff members were outside with allies urging the high court to say businesses should be #OpenToAll and that they should not be allowed to use religion to discriminate.